Over the last decade, the landscape that makes up both high school and collegiate sports has been dramatically impacted by the idea that players should be empowered to play wherever they want.
It has forever changed the way in which players can transfer from one school to another. While transferring used to be very difficult to take part in and would often lead to collegiate players sacrificing a year of eligibility, that is no longer the case.
As for high school students, kids in sports like basketball and football look to team up with other talented players with the hopes that success on the field and greater fanfare will lead to recognition from recruiters at top NCAA programs.
According to University of Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, a lot of that player movement can be attributed to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
“This generation of kids, they saw LeBron take his talents to Miami,” Dillingham said, according to Sports Illustrated‘s John Walters. “They wanna be on a super team.”
It’s a strong statement, but it is unclear if Dillingham is speaking out in criticism of James or simply stating it as fact. After all, it is not as if Oregon did not benefit from receiving transfers just like every other major program in college football did this past year.
Oregon brought in the 24th best transfer class this past offseason, according to 247 Sports.
Bo Nix, the Ducks’ starting quarterback, transferred over from Auburn University. At the moment, Oregon is ranked 13th in the country, and Nix has already passed for 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.
As for James, it is likely that even he could not have predicted what would follow after he decided to sign with the Miami Heat as a free agent in 2010. He joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat, and the three of them led the team to four NBA Finals appearances and two championships.
The NBA landscape was forever changed, as numerous stars have since forced trades or signed with teams that already have star players in hopes of winning NBA titles.
James, who is now 37 years old, likely only has a few more seasons of top-tier basketball in him. It will be fascinating to see if he decides to play the rest of his career with the Lakers or go to a different team.
Though his career will eventually come to an end, there is little doubt that the impact that he has had on sports and the idea that players can be in charge of their own destinies will live on far longer.
Whether or not that is a good thing likely depends on who one asks.